lip

noun

\ ˈlip

Definition of lip

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : either of two fleshy folds that surround the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and are organs of human speech essential to certain articulations also : the red or pinkish margin of the human lip

2 slang : back talk

3a : a fleshy edge or margin (as of a wound)

b : labium

c : labellum sense 1

d : a limb of a labiate corolla

4a : the edge of a hollow vessel or cavity

b : a projecting edge: such as

(1) : the beveled upper edge of the mouth of an organ flue pipe

(2) : the sharp cutting edge on the end of a tool (such as an auger)

(3) : a short spout (as on a pitcher)

c : edge sense 2

5 : embouchure

lip

adjective

Definition of lip (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : insincere lip praise

2 : produced with the participation of the lips : labial lip consonants

lip

verb

lipped; lipping

Definition of lip (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to touch with the lips especially : kiss

2 : utter

3 : to lap against : lick

4 : to hit (a putt) so that the ball hits the edge of the cup but fails to drop in —usually used with out

intransitive verb

: to hit the edge of the cup without dropping in —used with out the putt lipped out

lip-

combining form

variants: or lipo-

Definition of lip- (Entry 4 of 4)

: fat : fatty tissue : fatty lipoid lipoprotein

Other Words from lip Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about lip

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Examples of lip in a Sentence

Noun He had a cut on his lip. She was nervously biting her lip. the lips of a wound the lip of a crater the lip of a pitcher Adjective part of the ritual of the awards ceremony is the nominee's lip praise for the performances of his or her competitors Verb the waves, reflecting the red glow of the sunset, gently lipped the prow

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun This gem of a handbag is super sleek and compact, but can easily house my seven on-the-go necessities: wallet, cellphone, keys, lip balm, airpods, hand sanitizer, and hand cream. — Chelsea Hall, Marie Claire, "What I Wear on Repeat: My Chanel Boy Bag," 20 Jan. 2021 Beeswax may be a component of lip balm, lipstick, eyeliner, or eyeshadow. — Anthony Marcusa, chicagotribune.com, "The best cosmetic beeswax," 12 Aug. 2020 This is lip-gloss misanthropy packaged as feminist manifesto, clever but not smart, cynical without being perceptive or particularly passionate. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "Promising Young Woman," 15 Jan. 2021 TikTok viewers expect that crazy aspect and the lip-syncing. — Jeremy Hallock, Dallas News, "After years of performing, North Texas’ K3 Sisters Band becomes a sensation on TikTok," 13 Jan. 2021 The Bottega Veneta braided Lido sandals that were everywhere this year, combined with her chunky gold hoops and bold lip color, take the look from couch chic to couch chic. — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, "Tracee Ellis Ross Has An Outfit For Every New Year’s Eve Mood," 31 Dec. 2020 Their first challenge involves intense lip-syncing. — New York Times, "What’s on TV This Week: ‘Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President’ and ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’," 28 Dec. 2020 But that passion doesn't come to a screeching halt after reviewing a new lip color or breaking big product-launch news. — Allure Staff, Allure, "Allure's Greatest Hits of 2020," 24 Dec. 2020 Sure, television screens were smaller, but the pop stars dancing and lip-syncing through videos on MTV felt larger than life, able to dazzle audiences and free of burdens like the 24-hour news cycle and constant social-media chatter. — Maura Johnston, EW.com, "Miley Cyrus goes glam on the anticlimactic Plastic Hearts," 30 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The Lip Bar is joining the lot with its first-ever, non-lip product, a bronzer-blush duo called Fresh Glow. — Gabi Thorne, Allure, "The Lip Bar Launches Fresh Glow Bronzer-Blush Duos for Every Skin Tone," 15 Sep. 2020 Turns out, post-lip augmentation dryness is a strange phenomenon that people don't seem to tell their dermatologists about. — Devon Abelman, Allure, "Why My Lips Felt So Dry After Getting Filler," 10 Sep. 2020 Morrison told Fox News that the man's lip size, and the height and width of his mouth were accurately recreated by measuring the enamel of the skeleton's teeth. — Fox News, "Facial reconstruction provides glimpse of priest who died 900 years ago," 29 May 2020 Every lip gloss, lip liner, and eyeshadow comes in six color options, so there is plenty to choose from depending on your personal preferences. — Christina Butan, PEOPLE.com, "Lady Gaga Just Dropped Sparkly, Holiday-Perfect Makeup on Amazon, Including Lipstick and Eyeshadow," 12 Dec. 2019 When the collection officially goes on sale in September, fans will be able to buy the lip gloss, lip liner, and all-over color pigments exclusively on Amazon. — Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lady Gaga's Makeup Line Haus Laboratories Will Launch on Amazon in September," 9 July 2019 In an exclusive interview with Business of Fashion, the singer revealed that the collection will include makeup kits that combine lip gloss, lip liner, and all-over color. — Vogue, "Lady Gaga Is Launching a Makeup Line, Haus Laboratories—Here’s What We Know," 9 July 2019 The collection includes four lipsticks, two lip pencils, three liquid lipcolours, three lip glasses, an eyeshadow palette, and an extra dimension skin finish. — Houston Chronicle, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom, MAC's Selena La Reina line is available for pre-order," 7 Apr. 2020 This time around, the dynamic duo is giving us much more than lip kits. — Angela Trakoshis, Allure, "The Ashley Graham x Revlon Tropical Vibes Collection Is the Sunshine We Need Right Now," 24 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The popular TikTok video-sharing social networking service proved to save the day as students pre-recorded their vocal tracks individually and then lip synced their parts in a group setting using TikTok. — cleveland, "Lake Ridge Academy students create movie musical: Short Takes on Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville," 22 Feb. 2021 With the algorithm trained to analyze hundreds of thousands of faces, the app is even programmed to take skin tone and lip shape into account before recommending the appropriate color and finish. — Tish Weinstock, Vogue, "Is Chanel’s New Lipscanner App the Future of Beauty?," 22 Feb. 2021 Artists have been using the app for awhile to promote new music, but how major music labels are getting in on it – and paying big money to creators to dance and lip synch to their songs. — Kori Williams, Seventeen, "Your Fave TikTok Stars Are Making $$$ to Promote Music on the App," 12 June 2020 Symone and Olivia Lux take the stage once more to lip sync to Dua Lipa’s Break My Heart. — Paul Mccallion, Vulture, "RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: The Spy Who Dragged Me," 8 Jan. 2021 In 2020, the comedy star of the moment is Sarah Cooper, who lip syncs Trump soundbites to underline the self-evident madness of, for example, suggesting COVID patients drink bleach. — Judy Berman, Time, "Donald Trump's Presidency Was Supposed to Be Great for Art. It Wasn't," 5 Jan. 2021 The host could also ask your colleagues to mute their microphones to reduce background noise and to face their camera directly to optimize their audio level and enable you to lip read. — Johnny C. Taylor Jr., USA TODAY, "How do I talk to my manager about my hearing loss? Ask HR," 23 Dec. 2020 Sutherland could've won it on the fifth extra hole but watched his putt lip out. — Todd Kelly, The Arizona Republic, "Charles Schwab Cup Championship playoff goes to Monday finish," 9 Nov. 2020 Dry lips are a thing of the past with this set of Burt’s Bees lip balms. — Kiana Murden, CNN Underscored, "33 cute and clever stocking stuffers under $15 on Amazon," 14 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for lip

Noun

Middle English, from Old English lippa; akin to Old High German leffur lip and probably to Latin labium, labrum lip

Combining form

New Latin, from Greek, from lipos — more at leave

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Last Updated

24 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Lip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lip. Accessed 2 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for lip

lip

noun

English Language Learners Definition of lip

: either one of the two soft parts that surround the mouth

: the edge of a cut or hole

: the edge of a container especially where it is slightly spread out

See the full definition for lip in the English Language Learners Dictionary

lip

noun

\ ˈlip

Kids Definition of lip

1 : either of the two folds of flesh that surround the mouth

2 : the edge of a hollow container (as a jar) especially where it is slightly spread out

3 : an edge (as of a wound) like or of flesh

4 : an edge that sticks out the lip of a roof

lip

noun

\ ˈlip

Medical Definition of lip

1 : either of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and in humans are organs of speech essential to certain articulations also : the pinkish or reddish margin of a human lip composed of nonglandular mucous membrane and usually exposed when the mouth takes on its natural set

2 : an edge of a wound

3 : either of a pair of fleshy folds surrounding an orifice

4 : an anatomical part or structure (as a labium) resembling a lip